On Saturday, the UFC lightweight rematches Gray Maynard in the main event of the TUF 18 Finale, which takes place at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

After some buildup to the fight that included Diaz infamously saying he couldn’t make the fight because he’d be attending his high school reunion, Diaz is in Sin City – even though he’d rather be fighting elsewhere.

“I’m fighting. It is what it is,” he told MMAjunkie. “I could’ve taken a prelim spot in Sacramento by my house and been happier, a little closer to home. But I’ll take one in Vegas, far from home, and it’s cool.”

Diaz said a third fight with Maynard – the two fought on Season 5 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” though that win for Diaz didn’t count toward their records – wasn’t one he was seeking out, but it’s one he’s glad to have.

“It’s nothing I needed to seal the deal on or anything,” he said. “It didn’t keep me up at night. But he lost a couple times (since we fought), I lost a couple times. He’s higher in the rankings than me. He’s a top guy, he’s real tough, he’s been around a long time, and I can respect that. Out of a bunch of guys I’d be happy to fight, Gray Maynard is a worthy opponent. I’d rather fight him than some ‘Joe Blow’ making a name for himself. And it’s ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ where we started, so I guess it’s pretty cool.”

But most importantly for Diaz, winning comes first.

“My goal always is to win,” he said. “When I lose, trust me, I go crazy as a motherf—er. I’m always training to win. I’m always fighting to win. Everything I do is to win. Some people would say, ‘It’s for the fans.’ That’s all some bulls–t. We’re all here to win fights. Whatever I’ve got to do for that to happen, I’m going to do and train hard and work hard and push through, pull through to get these wins. I’ve lost some fights in the UFC, but nobody’s defeated me. And good luck beating me again because I’ll be here for a cool minute.”